Rachel leaned forward. There was an earnest look on her face. “At that time I was a working girl and a drug addict. I exchanged sex for money, so I was super pleased to get a job that paid me for pretending to have sex with a John. All I had to do was pose for some incriminating photos with him. As Lillian said, it was all staged. The bartender had spiked his drinks and he was out cold the whole time. I was there for twenty minutes tops, then I was gone with my money.”
“We do a lot of things for the people we love, but believe us when we tell you Zade is innocent,” Lillian said softly.
“Randy’s still insanely jealous that you chose me and not him, Sapphire. He always has been.”
I looked at the three of them and felt emotions overwhelm me. This was the missing piece all along. It sounded like the stuff of which movie scripts were made. I shook my head in disbelief, tears pricking at my eyes. Tears blurred my vision and I wiped them away angrily. I looked at the two women. “Thank you for sharing this information with me.”
I stood and looked at Zade. “I’m sorry, but this is all just too much for me to process and comprehend at once. I-I need a little time to think through all of this. I really need to clear my head. You need to go. Please.”
I walked to the door, yanked it open, and stood gripping the door handle. The women cast worried glances at me as they slid past me in the doorway. Zade stopped in front of me but I refused to look at him, keeping my gaze firmly on the second button of his shirt. Finally, with the barest of brushes of his lips, he touched my forehead. Then he stepped into the hallway, and I rushed to close the door before a hot tear slid helplessly down my cheek.
I dashed it away. Now was not the time to cry. I needed to think, and needed to think smart for a change. I gave Zade and the two women a good ten minutes to leave before I headed downstairs. A good long drive would clear my mind.
The car automatically turned in the direction of the mountains as I drove. Could it really be the anger I had held against Zade all these years was unfounded? He had proclaimed his innocence ever since his release, but to hear it from the mouth of someone who had helped to frame him felt surreal. Was it possible this was another big lie? Was Lillian being loyal to Zade and corroborating his story of being set up to help him? That still left Rachel, a stranger in the whole saga. Unless she was an Oscar worthy actress, her explanation seemed authentic to me.
My thoughts went back to the night everything turned upside down. Suddenly, I had questions I’d not thought of asking before.
First of all, how had Randy known where to find me that night? Why had he been so helpful in helping me find Zade? It was he who had suggested going back to the office. Why hadn’t we gone to Zade’s apartment instead? Why had he allowed me to search Zade’s desk? Wasn’t it risky to have a stranger do that, especially with the sort of sensitive information Zade always had? I remembered how easy it had been to find the photos. They had stuck out like a freaking sore thumb in that well-organized drawer. They weremeantto be found.
Obviously, Randy had played me for an idiot, but instead of feeling upset, I felt electrified and almost dizzy with excitement. My heart was pumping in my chest. I took a deep steadying breath. It didn’t work so I pulled over to the side of the road, got out and started to pace on the dirt. I had been wrong about everything.
Zade was innocent!
Randy was the guilty party.
I thought about how kind and considerate Randy had been over the years, and it made me feel foolish. True, he had duped me, but not completely. Even though my eyes saw the kindness and accepted his knight-in-shining-armor act as reality, some hidden part of me always knew it wasn’t real. No matter how kind he seemed to be, there was always that secret revulsion inside me whenever he touched me. When his fingers brushed against my skin it was the same feeling I had whenever a blue bottle fly landed on my skin. The sensation of wanting to wash my skin clean again.
I had just got confused with all the mixed signals. I was too hurt to see clearly.
Zade spoke the truth.
Randy was a liar.
My chest felt tight as I thought about how Randy had offered to donate to the school if only I would help patch things up between them. Why did he do it? Surely, if he was jealous of Zade and me being together then why pay to make us get closer? Unless he had a hidden motive. Was he planning to make me betray Zade, the way he had manipulated Lillian with money to do his bidding?
A dark blue sedan had slowed down next to me, and a man with gray sideburns put his head out of the window and asked, “Hey Lady, everything okay?”
I was so deep in my own thoughts his appearance made me jump. “I’m good, er… thanks.”
“Okay, you stay good, little lady,” he said with a nod before speeding away.
I got back into my car, turned it around and headed back home, when Stacey called me.
“I’ve just taken delivery of twenty desktop computers already loaded with software packages, all courtesy of BB Tech.”
I blinked. “What?”
“Yes, that was my reaction too.”
My fingers were shaking and gripping the steering wheel hard. “Look, let me get back to you.”
I could not breathe. I had been so wrong. If I had still harbored any grudges against Zade, they were all erased now. Every last one. He was a good guy. He was always a good guy.
Instead of driving back to my apartment I headed towards Mom’s place. I’d promised her I’d drop by sometime later, but since I was so close I might as well go now.
I found her on the couch, reading as usual. Benny was already home and in the kitchen. I’d learned that he was an excellent cook. In fact, he claimed to be better than my mom. Mom looked at me for help, but no way was I getting involved. Not after eating his cornbread. I stuffed another spoonful of the delicious chocolate mousse he had made into my mouth and pretended I couldn’t talk with a full mouth.
I sat next to my mother.